CVE-2016-7255

highpriority · act · 90OT risk · criticalKEV · exploitedEPSS 0.810 · 100 %ileexploit · PoCEURUUS

grimoire priorityP0 · Act now

Exploitable?

Yes · in the wild

CISA KEV · 8 exploits · PoC

Likely / severe?

81.0% (100th) EPSS

CVSS 7.2 · high

Is it mine?

24 products

Check your exposure

Who says so?

4 sources

cnnvd · enisa_euvd · fstec_bdu · nvd

added 2021-11-03remediate by 2022-05-03

required action Apply updates per vendor instructions.

EPSS · scored 2026-10-22

Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

The kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607, and Windows Server 2016 allow local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."

cvss

Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.

7.8

010

base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode

v2.07.2highAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:Cprimary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 3.9 · impact 10

v3.17.8highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hprimary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 1.8 · impact 5.9

v2.07.2highAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:Csecondary · FSTEC (BDU) RU

v3.17.8highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondary · ENISA EU

v3.17.8highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsecondaryexploitability 1.8 · impact 5.9

v3.17.8highCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:Hsecondary · CVSS-BT (t0sche)

ssvc

A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.

Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalcoordinatorcisa_ssvcUS

weaknesses

The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.

CWE-264US

exploits (8)

Public proof-of-concept and weaponised exploit code.

EDB-40745Microsoft Windows Kernel - 'win32k' Denial of Service (MS16-135)PoC · exploit_db
EDB-40823Microsoft Windows Kernel - 'win32k.sys NtSetWindowLongPtr' Local Privilege Escalation (MS16-135) (1)PoC · exploit_db
EDB-41015Microsoft Windows Kernel - 'win32k.sys NtSetWindowLongPtr' Local Privilege Escalation (MS16-135) (2)PoC · exploit_db
FSecureLABS/CVE-2016-7255An exploit for CVE-2016-7255 on Windows 7/8/8.1/10(pre-anniversary) 64 bitPoC · poc_in_github
bbolmin/cve-2016-7255_x86_x64porting CVE-2016-7255 to x86 for educational purposes.PoC · poc_in_github
heh3/CVE-2016-7255heh3/CVE-2016-7255PoC · poc_in_github

affected products (24)

Products and version ranges known to be affected.

n/a n/a≤ n/aenisa_euvdEU
Microsoft Corp Windows 10all versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows 10 RTMall versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows 7 Service Pack 1all versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows 8.1all versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows RT 8.1all versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1all versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2all versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows Server 2012 Goldall versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows Server 2012 R2all versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows Server 2016all versionsfstec_bduRU
Microsoft Corp Windows Vista Service Pack 2all versionsfstec_bduRU
microsoft windows 10 1507all versionsnvdUScpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1507:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows 10 1511all versionsnvdUScpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1511:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows 10 1607all versionsnvdUScpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1607:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows 7all versionsnvdUScpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows 8.1all versionsnvdUScpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows rt 8.1all versionsnvdUScpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt_8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows server 2008all versionsnvdUScpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows server 2008= r2nvdUScpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

showing 20 of 24

also known as (6)

Other names and identifiers for this entity.

sources

Which sources assert this record, and when.

cnnvd enisa_euvd fstec_bdu nvd NVD CVE.org MITRE

published 2016-11-10modified 2026-09-11

references (25)

External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.

scry

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